OARC Monthly Meeting – March 2026
The OARC Monthly Meeting will be on March 11, 2026 at 6:45pm. All Amateur Radio enthusiasts are welcome: OARC members and non-members, licensed and not-yet-licensed hams, friends and family.
Most monthly meetings will be hybrid. Attendance options:
(1) Attend in person at Scouts Headquarters, 1345 Baseline Road. Parking is free.
CLICK HERE TO GET A FREE TICKET.
This link takes you to Eventbrite, a free online ticketing system. Please register in advance for the meeting so that we can be sure to have enough chairs and refreshments for everyone, and send you a reminder closer to meeting.
(2) Attend virtually using MS Teams Need help?
Click here to Join the meeting [link will be active closer to the meeting]
Meeting ID: [to follow] Passcode: [to be follow]
Photos may be taken. Portions of the meeting may be recorded.
Draft Agenda
- Welcome, updates (Ryan, VA3WSO)
- Presentation: MeshCore, LoRa, Mesh Networking, and Building a Connected Ottawa and Beyond (Chris Schnobb)
BIO: Chris is an IT Security Consultant with years of technical and IT experience. In early 2024, he began his journey into radio frequency (RF) during a work engagement, which led him to discover LoRa, a long-range radio protocol, as an accessible entry point into the RF space. What started as curiosity quickly became a passion. Chris dove headfirst into LoRa and mesh networking, becoming one of the leading forces behind Ottawa’s city-wide MeshCore deployment. He is the author of Ottawamesh.ca and a core developer of MeshMapper, an application built for wardriving and mapping MeshCore networks. You may have seen him on Discord or the mesh under his tag MrAlders0n.
ABSTRACT: MeshCore, LoRa, Mesh Networking, and Building a Connected Ottawa and Beyond
This presentation will begin with an introduction to LoRa technology and what makes it such a versatile and accessible platform for radio experimentation, followed by a look at the value of mesh networks, including the pros, cons, and design considerations for both urban and rural deployments. The presentation will also explore the potential of LoRa mesh networks as emergency communication systems for communities, as the radios are accessible and anyone can use them.
The focus will be primarily on MeshCore, while touching on Meshtastic and some of the reasons it struggled to gain traction compared to MeshCore’s success in Ottawa and other communities. Chris will cover the motivation behind the move to MeshCore, the protocol itself, and the ongoing development efforts that have kept it evolving rapidly.
The presentation will highlight tools that have emerged around MeshCore, including MeshMapper and LetsMesh, along with practical hardware recommendations and success stories from local deployments. Attendees will see a showcase of repeaters deployed across Ottawa and learn about some of the coolest things the community has accomplished with LoRa.
Chris will also make the case for LoRa and mesh networking as a gateway for younger newcomers to get into RF and eventually pursue their amateur radio licence, and will touch on some early collaboration with students at Carleton University, including the ambitious goal of linking Ottawa to Montreal and Quebec City by the end of this summer.
The presentation will wrap up with an overview of the Ottawa mesh community, plans for expansion, and where to get involved, from Ottawamesh.ca to Discord and beyond.
A follow-on workshop is also being planned where members can learn about and purchase a recommended configuration for either a repeater node, a companion node, or both, so they can start experimenting and become part of the Ottawa mesh. Stay tuned for more details. This may include a handout with references as well.
- Other agenda items TBD